In present-day communication systems, real-time connections are also increasingly set up, e.g. for voice, video or multimedia communication, via packet-oriented communication networks, such as local area networks (LAN) or wide area networks (WAN). “Internet telephony”, for example, also frequently referred to as VoIP telephony (VoIP: Voice/Video over Internet Protocol), is based on this technology.
Known terminal devices for packet-oriented real-time communication normally have a “coder” (codec), e.g. in accordance with ITU-T Recommendations G.729 or G.723.1, which, in real time, compresses the real-time communication data which are to be transmitted and transfers them in the form of data packets into a packet-oriented communication network, normally a local area network. The required transmission bandwidth is reduced by the compression, so that real-time communication connections can also be set up via packet-oriented communication networks with narrow individually available transmission bandwidths, e.g. the Internet.
However, such real-time compression of communication data requires a relatively high processor power which is to be delivered by the terminal device concerned. In the case of a compressing coder in accordance with ITU-T Recommendation G.729, for example, a processor power of 9 MIPS is required. A corresponding specification of the terminal devices is therefore normally relatively costly. In addition, if conventional coders are used, a license fee must frequently be paid for each individual implementation of these coders and thus for each individual terminal device.